With the U.S.-Israel military attack on Iran entering its second week, perhaps one of the post-conflict ramifications that are more unexpected have surfaced: the once high-billed national soccer team has currently been virtually radioactive regarding its prospects of playing at the FIFA world cup season in 2026.
Iranian troops retaliated by firing missiles on Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, and fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah fired a parallel offensive. Amidst the headlines of heightened death in the country, further deaths of U.S. troops, some Iranian leaders vowed not to relent, many incidents on the sports pages of the country have emerged silent beneath the sports journalism portals.
A recent interview with the domestic sports portal Varzesh3 by the federation's president Mehdi Taj stunned the silence of Iranian officials with more than 200 dead bodies inside the country, and more deaths of American troops.
2 Out of 3 Group Matches of Iran in US Cities
Taj clarified that the group-stage appearances of the team in the tournament that is to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico were now seriously in threat to be cancelled. Two out of three of the group matches of the team were to be hosted in Inglewood, California and the remaining one in Seattle.
Aside from leaving Iranian society vulnerable to the effect of the conflict having made the World Cup an event to look forward to and now with a heavy heart, as first aired in regional media is the highlighting of how strongly the war-at-once has infiltrated the heart of the Iranian society. Even though, Taj had not been forthright enough to declare outright withdrawal but the message sent was unmistakably clear, that soccer despite being the most non-political bit of national life is not spared, as the bombs started hitting.
